Less than 50 days to the start line in Hopkinton! Whaaaaat?! Say it ain’t so!

Now that I’m halfway through the training cycle, I’m beginning to realize how much stronger I am than I was in December. I admit it, I was really nervous about this hip issue when I started my training in January. I wasn’t 100% sure that I had strengthened it appropriately and there was always a chance that it come back to rear it’s dull, achy head. I kept thinking back to my Twin Cities training cycle and wondering how I’d ever get back to that. Dealing with a testy gluetus medius took more patience than I thought it would (2 weeks of no running can feel like an eternity–I feel luckier than some to have a short rest period). Looking back, I know that if I had not taken the time out in November and December to give my body a rest and a good period of strength training, that I would be dealing with some major aches and pains right now. And they’d likely take me out of Boston or force me to seriously reconsider my goals.

Luckily, that’s not the case and I’m feeling strong and prepared to commit to 7 more badass weeks of training. It can only get better from here, no?!

I ran 46 miles this week: 2 easy runs, 2 workouts, and 1 long run. + 1 strength sessions and 2 core routines.

Monday: Easy 5. OUTSIDE in the SUNSHINE. Without a jacket! Woot woot!

Tuesday: Steady State. 9 miles total, 7:41 average pace. The goal was to run the last 8 miles progressively between 7:45 and 7:30. Lately, the miles seem to tick by on the treadmill for steady state and tempo runs. I honestly think I spent a lot of time just dreading the treadmill that I forced myself into horrible runs. Now that I’ve accepted the treadmill as part of my training, the runs are so much more enjoyable. Funny how that works, huh?

Wednesday: Rest. Spent 45 minutes doing strength and core routines at home while watching tv. My apartment is pretty small but somehow I manage to work up quite a sweat on Wednesdays. (At least when I can manage to get pup off the yoga mat. She does her own version of downward dog.)

Thursday: 8 x 800s. 9.87 miles total at 7:54 average pace. This was, by far, the most challenging run of the week. Ran 2 miles warm-up, 8 x 800 with 2:30 jog recovery, and 2 mile cooldown. Normally when I run 800s, the goal is to stay consistent in my splits and keep comfortable. This time around, the focus was on starting conservative and get progressively faster. My hip flexors and quads were pretty locked up after a considerable number of lunges on Wednesday and after the third repeat I was wondering how the h*** I was supposed to pick up the pace for each consecutive repeat. Gradually, the legs started to turnover and I wasn’t dealing with a massive headwind like I was for the first 3 repeats.

3:11, 3:12
3:12, 3:09
3:09, 3:06
3:06, 3:05

I was knocked OUT the rest of the day (started mid-morning). I snacked and ate a lot the rest of the day to refuel. This workout was killer but a confidence booster nonetheless.

Friday: Easy 4. Nothin’ to see here folks! (More hip flexor stretches to prepare for the long run the next day)

Saturday: 18 mile long run, 8:02 average pace. WAHOOOOOO! After 10 hours of sleep, a cup of coffee, and peanut butter toast I headed to the lakefront. It felt really weird to start my run when I would usually be finishing it, but I had nothing planned for the rest of the day and it was kind of liberating to not care about the time on the clock. Even at 11 AM there were a lot of people getting their runs in. The sun peeked out a few times and the wind wasn’t terribly cold. I’ve realized lately that I need to spend more time focusing on finding a rhythm and envision the start line at Boston. If I tell myself I can do it, the run goes by so much faster and I have more fun with it. I forced myself to stop looking at my watch so often. Whenever I did look down at my watch, I realized how fast I was running. So, miles 6-10 were considerably slower than the rest. My legs felt better the faster they turned over and the pace was still conversational.

To say that I’m happy about this run is an understatement.

This next week is going to be less intense, as I have a “mini taper” for the Wacky 10k on Sunday. I’ve never truly raced a 10k so I’m anxious and nervous about this one. I think the goal is to all out race it, so we’ll see! Looking forward to the easy miles and rest this week as well.

The build-up through the first half of the training cycle has been great.

46 miles in one week used to sound crazy. Now I enjoy it 🙂

Highlights o’ The Week

• Added to my running playlist: Books from Boxes by Maximo Park 
• This weekend’s long run was fueled by ramen courtesy of a new spot in Wicker, Oiistar. I had the “Musselmen”, the duck bun as an appetizer, and the poached pear for dessert. So good! And the service was great, especially sitting near the open kitchen. If you’re a fan of ramen, I highly recommend it!
•  I saw this poster online the other day and after telling myself I’d buy it “one day” for approximately 2 seconds, I added it to my cart and Paypal’d it immediately. I have a feeling you runners out there will appreciate the sentiment. (Now all I have to do is buy it a frame!)

• Ok, I know I’m obsessed with my dog, but this video is hilarious. She had just woken up from a nap and I caught her doing this:  http://youtu.be/GoOj1DlHFs0.
• The lakefront was really cool this week. There’s a bend right near Fullerton that always has the coolest ice, but this week was especially cool. Are “ice rings” even a thing!?

Pictures o’ The Week

It was cold this week. Puppy cuddles were totally necessary.

What a grey week in Chi. Still, I love this city.

I reached 200 unique beers on Untappd. See? I’m a MASTER

Confidence booster.

-J